But the proposal, which cleared the House Health and Welfare Committee on a series of divided votes Tuesday, nonetheless represents legislative displeasure at the governor's seeking of an overhaul of the multibillion-dollar enterprise without lawmakers' input. Mount is chairwoman of the Senate Health and Welfare Committee.

The Jindal plan would convert the traditional Medicaid fee-for-service model into a system of coordinated-care networks run by private insurance firms or provider networks that are awarded state contracts.

Individuals with Medicaid would then be members of a given network, much like the health management organization system used in the private insurance market.

The contract rates would not be tied to individual services like the current model. The governor says that the plan will lead to better health outcomes for Medicaid recipients and savings for taxpayers.

Implementation was on track for later this year, though that has been called into question as lawmakers continue to haggle over the budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1.

The House-passed version of the budget stripped $81 million earmarked for the conversion. But the Department of Health and Hospitals has made clear that the plan is a priority, and ongoing budget negotiations could result in the agency proceeding this year.

Ninety days after the second annual report -- due Jan. 1, 2014 -- either the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget or the combined House and Senate health committees could by a majority vote opt to scrap the coordinated-care system altogether.

Mount, testifying along with former Senate Health and Welfare Chairman Joe McPherson, D-Woodworth, framed the bill as a reasonable assertion of legislative authority in a system often dominated by the chief executive.

"We ought to act as an equal branch of government," Mount said.

But her House counterpart, Chairwoman Kay Katz, R-Monroe, told the senators she thought it was "inappropriate" for legislative committees to have the authority to discontinue contracts in such a large program as Medicaid. Katz is a strong Jindal ally.

Katz unsuccessfully pushed an amendment that would have stripped the oversight panels' ability to end the networks. Instead, lawmakers would be able to "recommend changes" to the administration, a role the chairwoman called "valuable input."

Mount retorted, "It's not valuable if we can't act on it."

McPherson, a frequent Jindal critic, bemoaned his colleagues' willingness to stand aside as Jindal remakes a system that will affect well beyond a million residents once the federal health-care overhaul is fully implemented in 2014. "Some days, I wonder why we even come up here if we're just going to be puppets," he said.

When Katz told McPherson "no one would suggest you are a puppet," he replied, "No. But unfortunately it only takes a majority." McPherson said Katz's amendment would turn the bill into a "feel-good study" bill.

The amendment failed 9-6, paving the way for a final 12-2 vote, with Katz maintaining her opposition.

Asked about the prospect for a veto, Jindal spokesman Kyle Plotkin said, "We're watching the bill through the process."